Seems like my homeowners insurance is just as good as KTAC and much cheaper. Same deductible.
It may be just as good for your expected loss cases but it likely doesn't cover operator error losses and off site losses. I would read the rider for your homeowners insurance to make sure it covers every loss that you deem as an acceptable risk. I doubt it will cover an engine fire, sliding off a bank into a pond, or rolling the tractor from improper load balance. It will likely cover it in the case of loss due to a insured structure damage that in turn damages the tractor. For example a tree falling on the garage where the tractor is parked due to a storm, or a structure fire that burns up the tractor. It should also cover theft while secured on site, but I would make sure and read the rider for what constitutes secured. Does it have to be garaged to be insured for theft or can it be sitting in the field?
Also if someone doesn't have a dedicated rider for the specific tractor their home owners will likely not cover a tractor at all other than a lawn tractor like a $5k riding mower and usually have a maximum limit and like kind replacement value which is going to be significantly less than what you paid for it even if there is only a few hours on the machine.
My
m7060 was a total loss due to engine failure. The mechanics best guess was it overheating after stalling in an extreme angle when I dropped the front end into a mud filled old stump hole that appeared to be solid but was essentially quick sand. I had the loader up empty while mowing weeds over a recently cleared tract of land. That allowed the front to nose dive in and the tractor stalled immediately. I was able to work myself out the next day but the engine started spitting oil under load when it was at operating temperature.
Ktac wrote a check for the diminished value of the tractor and when I took delivery of my Svl65 they sent me a check for the difference of my contracted purchase price of the
m7060 and the diminished value. The tractor was 3yrs old. I had paid 0 interest and had paid about $2800 in insurance premiums. So it cost me $3300 (premiums +deductible) for 3 years of use. The loader was repaired and I sold it locally for $4k. My contract priced the loader at $5k. I kept the bucket and use it with my skidsteer which was around a $1k bucket if I bought something similar to use.
The bad thing is due to covid to buy a new identical machine I would have been paying about $2k out of pocket and waiting around 6 months for delivery at the time. I found a dealer with the skid steer due to come in within 2 months and went with that option. For my use case the skid steer was a better fit as I don't do crops or hay production. So in the end it was a win for me.
Also as a note Ktac premiums are not an even monthly portion of the bill. The monthly cost isnt $4k quote divided by 60 payments. It is essentially a front loaded interest rate applied to the contract over the duration of the loan based on the initial contract price. You can see this when you take the difference of the quoted payoff vs the payments you have made and the contract + insurance price. So at year 3 the premiums I had paid to Ktac were higher than I had expected based of the sales guys explanation that it was a monthly part of the payment.
